The Princess & The Wolf
by Bapegod97
Summary: Sakura is a beautiful princess who wants to take a break from the royal life and go on an adventure. Syaoran is a peasant traveller who was just looking for a job at the Kinomoto village. What happens when the Clow cards cause their destinies to intertwine?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: 'The Princess & The Wolf'**

 **Kinomoto Castle**

The birds chirped merrily as the sun began to rise. The green meadows surrounding the castle slowly came into view. The radiant rays slowly lit up the sky and freshness filled the air. It was springtime and the scent of the beautiful cherry blossoms was carried by the gentle breeze. Flowers of different colors and shades were scattered clumsily on the grassy plains giving it an extravagant look- daisies, peonies, roses; you name it!

In the midst of the scenic grassland stood a beautiful castle. The castle walls shone brilliantly against the sun's rays and gave off a glamorous glow, making it look as if it was made of pure gold. It was huge. Built thirty stories high, it was probably the largest castle one would see while traveling these lands. The castle towered over a few small houses that were a part of the Kinomoto Village. The meadow surrounding the castle was protected by a band of colossal walls.

Standing in the balcony outside her room, she breathed in the scent of the natural beauty that was in front of her.

 _Absolutely breath-taking_ , she thought and smiled. Leaning against the railings, her emerald poles searched across the land for any sign of pink trees. _Cherry blossoms, my favorite!_ As soon as she spotted a few of them, she wanted to leap out of her balcony to the field below.

She sighed. She knew better than to do such a thing, though. Firstly, it was because her balcony was at least two hundred and fifty feet away from the ground. Secondly, the people in the castle would not be very pleased if they were to find out about it. Yawning, she turned away to return to her room. Living in the castle was no fun to her. How she longed to be free and to be able go out on an exciting adventure across the jungles and forests to the great beyond!

 _But that'll probably never happen…_ she realized, with much sadness.

"But it won't stop me from hoping. Right?!" She assured herself.

She smiled and danced around in her gigantic room thinking about the wonderful experiences she would get to have if she went out on an adventure.

 _Oh an adventure!_ She thought merrily.

"Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity. You know that don't you?"

The voice startled her and made her lose her footing, causing her to end up on the floor. She looked up and pouted, annoyedly, at the man who stood at the door. The man wore an expensive battle suit that complimented his lean figure perfectly. He had black hair and brown eyes. His facial features were sharp.

"Get out of my room, Touya!" she screamed, angrily.

Touya smirked.

"Why would I want to come inside a monster's room anyway?" That was all he said before walking away.

"I'm not a monster! Geez Touya. I wish you'd grow up!" was all she had to retort to his retreating figure.

She got up from the floor and headed towards the huge mirror on the side of her room to fix her sleeping gown. She sighed after looking at her reflection.

She had become sixteen yesterday and she no longer looked like a child. The luscious curves on her slender body had become very prominent. Her auburn hair hung a few inches below her shoulder. She began growing her hair out a few days ago.

Her eyes were of the deepest and purest shade of green and anyone who looked at them would be forever lost in them. She was without a doubt the most beautiful girl across the land. And, whenever she looked at her own eyes, she was always reminded of her mother. She sighed again _._

I miss you, Mother…

A knock at the door woke her up from what seemed like a trance.

"Princess Sakura, may I come in?"

"Please do. Good morning."

Sakura smiled and turned around to meet her maid and good friend. She was a few years older than Sakura.

"Good morning Princess" Aya smiled and greeted.

In her hands she carried what looked like a purple dress. Sakura, seeing the dress, gave Aya a confused look.

"Princess Tomoyo would be coming over today. I think she would be delighted if you were to wear the dress she made for you last week."

Sakura smiled. "How very thoughtful of you, Aya. Tomoyo would love that! Here, please help me change."

Sakura changed into the purple dress which had full sleeves. The dress hugged her body well and went down to her ankles. It was simple, yet elegant. Sakura sighed with relief. This was one of the few designs in which Tomoyo did not go overboard.

After dressing up, Sakura headed downstairs. The castle seemed to be even bigger on the inside. Not to mention more beautiful. The floors and walls were decorated with expensive marble. A long wide staircase covered with red carpet led down to the throne room.

Sakura skipped merrily down the steps. In the throne room, behind the large throne, was a large painting of Queen Nadeshiko. She had passed away when Sakura was only three years-old because of an illness. Although Sakura did not have many memories of her, she still missed her mother. She stood there silently in the room, staring at Nadeshiko's painting, not noticing her father approaching her.

"Good morning. Sakura. You are looking absolutely lovely today." Fujitaka greeted his daughter with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Father. Thank you. I'm waiting for Tomoyo." Sakura turned around to meet her father.

He was wearing a thick red robe which was so long that it reached the floor. His round glasses gave him a fatherly look. He had auburn hair like Sakura and brown eyes like Touya. Before sitting on his throne, he too went up to the Queen's painting and whispered.

"Good morning. My dear Nadeshiko."

Sakura smiled at her father. It was clear that he still loved his wife dearly after all these years.

"I apologize for interrupting, but Princess Tomoyo's carriage has arrived" Aya reported as she appeared from behind.

"Oh, that's alright. Thank you for letting me know. I will be meeting her outside in a minute." Sakura turned back to her father and bowed politely.

Fujitaka laughed. "Go have fun my dear. Give Tomoyo my greetings."

"I will, Father." Sakura smiled, and rushed out to meet her best friend.

Tomoyo was the princess of the Daidouji castle. Her mother Sonomi was a distant cousin of Sakura's mother Nadeshiko. Tomoyo and Sakura were childhood friends and they were absolutely inseparable. Tomoyo's hobby was to design clothes and outfits. Apparently, she always used Sakura as a model for her designs.

"Good morning, Tomoyo! It's so nice to see you! I've missed you so much! How are you?" Sakura greeted Tomoyo whole-heartedly with a hug as soon as she got down from her carriage.

"Sakura! I've missed you too! Is that my dress you're wearing!? It looks absolutely gorgeous on you! Oh my God! You look even prettier than you usually do!"

Sakura was a bit taken aback. _But then again, that's Tomoyo for you!_ She thought happily. Sakura nodded at her friend, "I love this dress Tomoyo! I think you should become a designer. I don't know a single person who could design clothes better than you do!"

It seemed as if Tomoyo did not hear a word Sakura had just said. She went forward to touch Sakura's hair.

"Oh my God! You're growing out your hair! I've always told you that you should do it! You look absolutely amazing!"

Sakura laughed nervously. She was getting a bit uncomfortable, but nevertheless, she was used to this.

"Come on, let's go sit by the fountain and have some tea!" Sakura offered cheerfully.

Tomoyo nodded. "We have a lot of catching up to do!"

Aya came in with two cups of tea.

"Thank you, Aya. It's so nice to see you." Tomoyo greeted. Aya bowed politely and left.

"So… Is it true?! I heard that you're getting engaged, Tomoyo! Come on, tell me all about it!"

Tomoyo's expression darkened at that mention.

 _That's weird... I've never seen Tomoyo react like that before..._ Sakura blinked, confused.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes. It's about the engagement- I'm getting married to Prince Hiragizawa" Tomoyo spoke with sadness in her voice.

"Is that so? Well.. do you not like him?" Sakura added, worriedly.

"It's not that though. I've never even met him. The weird thing is that my mother has never met him either. She just came up to me one day and said that I have to marry him. She offered absolutely no explanation. And, I've never even heard of our kingdom having any relationships with the Hiragizawa kingdom. It's all so sudden… I don't know if I'm ready and… I'm so confused."

"Don't worry Tomoyo! I'm sure your mother has good reasons for getting you married to this prince… and everything should be fine. Did you hear anything about this man from anybody yet?"

"Well, I heard that he is about my age... I'm pretty glad about that. I heard that he has blue hair and eyes. I don't know anything else though. But, I'm not sure if I want to marry him without knowing about him or ever even meeting him."

"You're gonna be fine… don't worry! I don't like seeing you all depressed like that! I like it better when you're all cheerful and making clothes for me!" Sakura tried her best to console her friend.

"I guess you're right... I feel so much better now after talking to you! You're such a good friend!" Tomoyo smiled. But it quickly changed to a sly grin. Now it was her turn to ask questions. "But what about you, though? I heard that you've been getting a lot of suitors lately!"

"Yeah... The suitors are coming in every day. But Touya always manages to drive them away by giving them the cold shoulder. Honestly, that's the only one thing I appreciate about my annoying brother. I don't want to get married right now. Besides, I think the only thing they're after is the kingdom's wealth." Sakura just shrugged her shoulders with boredom.

"But you would make such a lovely wife, Sakura! I can't wait to design your wedding dress!" Tomoyo exclaimed enthusiastically until something caught her eye. "Hey, isn't that your brother over there?"

Sakura turned around to see Touya riding a white horse across the grassy field. Following Touya were the other members of the Royal Knights. The Royal Knights were a group of noblemen that were skilled in the fighting and combat. Touya was the current leader of the group. Even the prince had to go through the rigorous training of becoming a Royal Knight. The group's duty was to protect the royal family from harm.

Sakura sighed. _If only girls were allowed to train so that they could become a Royal Knight... I know it's so thrilling and exciting! I want to learn how to use the sword and fight like a true warrior... just like Touya…_

"Don't worry Sakura... I'm sure you would make a great warrior. You would be beautiful... and strong!" Tomoyo cheered.

Tomoyo was born with a special ability to read people's thoughts. It's a handy ability, but it gets kind of disturbing when Sakura wants to keep her privacy. Sakura turned back at the Royal Knights. She blushed as soon as she spotted the gray-haired young man who was also riding a white horse.

 _Oh my God! It's Yukito! He looks so dreamy with his hair flowing in the wind! Maybe marriage might not be a bad idea now that you think about it..._ Sakura shook her head with realization.

Don't be ridiculous he only thinks of you as a younger sister... Nothing more.

Sakura sighed, sadly, and turned towards Tomoyo.

"Don't lose hope Sakura. If you guys are meant to be together then I'm sure that destiny will lead your way." Tomoyo assured her.

She didn't have to read Sakura's mind to know what she was think about this time. She wasn't really keen about the idea of her and Yukito, though. Tomoyo believed that it was just puppy love. But, nevertheless, she wanted to support Sakura thorough thick and thin. It was the least she could do for her best friend.

"Well... I just hope that he notices me. I just want him to see me for who I am- Not just some little girl who happens to be his best friend's younger sister..."

"Of course." Tomoyo nodded with understanding.

Sakura looked towards the giant castle walls that were located pretty far from where Tomoyo and she were sitting and sighed.

Maybe I should tell her...

"Don't you ever wonder about what's happening outside, Tomoyo?"

"Do you mean outside the castle?" Tomoyo blinked, confused at the sudden change of topic.

"Yeah... I'm talking about life in the villages... Or maybe even life in the mountains beyond the villages... Or maybe even beyond that to other kingdoms! Places we don't even know about! I want to know how it feels to be free!" Excitement grew in the princess' voice.

"No… Not really..." Tomoyo answered, thoughtfully. _Wow. Your wild imagination never ceases to surprise me... Well, that's what I love about you, Sakura._ Tomoyo smiled at the thought.

"Don't you ever feel that you're missing out on something exciting? Sakura looked down to the ground, sadness filling her voice.

"Well, now that you bring it up... I guess…" Tomoyo giggled. _Although, I think I'm looking at a walking bundle of excitement right in front me!_

"I want to go on an adventure! Explore the world outside of this kingdom!" Sakura got up from her seat and spun around, gracefully.

Her emerald poles shone brightly as she adamantly stared at the wall that barricaded the whole world from her.

 **Kinomoto Village**

A huge block of wood flew up in the air as the crowd watched expectantly. There was a sharp 'swipe' followed consecutively by a few more. All of them in the same second. The piece of wood fell onto to the ground in the form of a pile of small logs. Every single one of them accurately shaped and equal in size.

The crowd cheered, clapped and whistled and the young boy took a humble bow. He put his sword back into his scabbard. The sword was long and slick. The hilt was black with red strings wrapped around it and with yellow diamond shaped decorations. The blade shone brightly in the daylight. One would believe that it was quite expensive. The boy wore an undersized ragged green robe, though. So that probably led people to think otherwise. He was tall and thin, but had an athletic body build for someone his age.

The crowd threw coins at his feet and dispersed.

Oh I can sure get used to this! Maybe the people in this village aren't so bad after all…

"Thank you dear! I needed those logs for the fire..." The old lady who owned the piece of wood appeared behind him.

The boy turned around.

He had messy brown hair and deep amber poles. Not many people had eyes of that shade around these parts. It was obvious that he was a traveler- a foreigner in this village.

"Don't mention it! I'm glad I was of some help." The boy grinned happily with his hands behind his head. He then bent down to collect the money that was scattered on the ground.

 _I'm gonna need this for dinner... And probably for a place to sleep as well_ …

He started to count the coins and smiled.

Yeah, that should do it! I Guess today's my lucky day!

The lady took out her own bag of coins. "Here you go dear. You earned it!" She handed the money to him happily.

"Thanks, but I already got my keep for today. I really appreciate it, though!" The boy refused humbly with a smile.

"Oh, well, at least stop by for some porridge... I'll make some with the fire from the logs you cut down for me."

"That'll be great! I'm absolutely starving!" _Wow! This day just keeps getting better and better._

The lady went back into the house. He was about to follow her inside until he heard someone call out to him.

"Those were some mad skills there."

He turned around towards the man who was wrapped in a dark cloak. He was amongst his audience without a doubt.

"Can I help you, sir?" He felt that this man was here to talk about some serious business. He grabbed onto his scabbard almost voluntarily.

"Oh yes you can, my son. In fact, you would be of great help to me." The man removed his hood to show his face. He had grey hair and brown eyes and looked quite old. It was obvious that he was of high authority around this village.

"Just so you know, I'm only visiting this village..."

"It's obvious that you're not from here." The man cut him short. "But that's not what this is about... I have an offer to make to you… One that you simply cannot refuse... "

He looked at the man quizzically.

The man smirked. "How rude of me... Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Gareth. I'm one of the Royal Knights."

He added the last part in a whisper so that no one else could hear him.

The boy's eyes widened. This man wasn't joking. He could feel it.

"How would you like to work for the Kinomoto Castle? We could certainly use a man of your... talents."

He was taken aback. One of the main reasons for him moving to this village was to find a job that would help him with his minimum requirements. This was way beyond what he was looking for.

Gareth could easily tell that the boy was more than eager for the task. The smirk on his face only grew. His recruiting skills were better than ever.

The Royal Knight extended his hand out towards him.

"Tell me son, what is your name?"

The boy stood there speechless for a moment or two, trying to digest what just went down.

.

.

.

"…It's Syaoran."

-X-


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: "Enter Kaho"**

 **Hiragizawa Kingdom**

The dark room was dimly lit by the crystal sphere that was located in the center of the room. He gazed intently at it.

 _Its time..._ He smirked.

The chair he sat on was way too big for his size. His dark silhouette showed him to be a young man. His round glasses shone from the light emitted from the sphere, and it prevented his eyes from being seen. The blue haired boy bent towards the sphere. Things were about to get interesting. And he was NOT going to miss this.

A dark panther-like creature laid curled up beside his chair. It was probably asleep. It was huge, though. Obviously not your average predator feline. Then again, an ordinary panther would not be lying around in room like a tamed kitty cat.

Its eyes suddenly opened up to reveal its azure sclera with sharp black pupils. The pupils moved around the room excitedly. Almost as if it was waiting for something- and that waiting was finally over.

The creature stood up and yawned loudly. A large butterfly-shaped crest on its chest lit up and illuminated the room further. It was blue- just like its eyes. But that wasn't all that was blue. The creature stretched out its forearms and from its back came out huge dark butterfly-wings with spots that had the shade of the brightest and shiniest sapphires.

It turned its head toward the sphere its master was looking at, and bore out its large off-white fangs. It seemed satisfied- very satisfied...

"Looks like someone's having fun..." The creature spoke.

"Oh you have no idea... I've waited so long for this."

The creature went back to its curled up position, but continued to look at the orb.

"But I must wonder. Whatever is the girl for?" A feminine voice spoke up.

A woman wearing an elegant black dress levitated out of the darkness from behind the room. She had long pink hair. But the darkness prevented her face from being seen. Just like the panther, she too had giant black butterfly-wings. Only her's had red spots on them instead of blue.

"Princess Daidouji?"

Both the creature and the woman looked towards the young man with glasses, expecting him to finish. He laid back into his chair, looked away from the orb and clasped his hands together.

"I'm gonna use her to get closer to Card Captor." He smirked.

"Master, why would you even need to do that? You could easily do your job just by sitting idly in this place." The black animal-like creature licked its paw.

"He could..." The woman with butterfly-wings answered for the young man. "But what would be the fun in that?" She waved her hand around like the answer to the question was pretty obvious.

The creature snarled at the woman and went back to its nap-taking position.

"Yeah, whatever."

The boy laughed and faked a hurt expression.

"Spinel Sun, I was expecting you to have more faith in me. And don't worry, I'll be extra careful... If that's what you're worried about..."

He turned towards the winged woman, smiled, and then back towards the crystal sphere.

"Oh yeah, and Ruby Moon, we're gonna have a lot of fun... This girl... She's very powerful."

Ruby Moon looked toward the orb. It showed the visage of a certain green-eyed and auburn-haired princess.

"Princess Kinomoto... My, my... She's too pretty for her own good." Ruby Moon licked her lips and smiled.

Spinel Sun, the winged panther, looked at the princess, quite unimpressed.

"Oh jolly…"

"Don't fret Spinel. I'm sure you'll have your fill..." The man spoke up again.

Ruby Moon looked at the young man's mischievous smile and laughed.

"You'll never change… Clow Reed."

The man bent towards the orb once again and waved his left hand over it. The visage that was being shown in it clouded up and disappeared.

He looked up to reveal the blue poles behind his circular spectacle frame. The malicious smile still stretched across his face.

"Let the games begin..."

 **Kinomoto Castle Colosseum**

The swords clashed. The metallic rebound rung through their ears.

"Not bad, Prince Touya."

"Hmph.. Well, I am the best." The prince had a proud grin on his face.

He pushed his opponent's sword forward and then swung it out of his hand.

 _There, done..._

The prince withdrew his sword.

"And stop calling me that."

"Stop calling you what?" Yukito asked with a bright smile on his face, acting like he didn't know what he was talking about.

"God dammit, Yukito..."

Touya turned around to walk away. He stopped midway to look back at his sparring partner.

"Oh yeah, don't think I didn't realize that you lost on purpose..."

Yukito scratched his head unmindfully. The silly grin still on his face.

"Oh, however did you find out?" He asked Touya playfully, the sarcasm practically dripping from his words.

"I'm gonna get you for that... You know that!"

 **Colosseum Sidelines**

Syaoran watched as the boy in front of him imitated Prince Touya's moves.

"Did you see that!? He was like all over him! There's no way anyone can stand up to the prince! He's the best of the best from the Royal Knights!"

"That so?" Syaoran asked cluelessly. He had no idea what was going on. This was his first day inside the kingdom.

The happy-go-lucky boy put his hand out towards Syaoran.

"Hi, I'm Yamazaki... Takaishi Yamazaki! But you can just call me Yamazaki! You seem like a new face... Not from around here... Definitely no."

Syaoran shook his hand nervously.

"Hey Yamazaki! I'm Syaoran." He introduced himself with a bent smile _. Why am I having a weird feeling about this guy? I mean, he seems pretty nice..._

Yamazaki was waiting for him to finish with an expectant expression.

"Oh no, it's just Syaoran... I mean that's what they call me… And you're right. I'm not really from here. I came here from the far east."

"Oh... That' fine, I guess..." Yamazaki said with an unsatisfied expression. But it quickly left his face. He forced himself beside Syaoran and put his arm around his back friendlily. Syaoran seemed a bit uneasy though.

"So welcome to the Kinomoto Kingdom! Trust me, yer gonna love it here! The people here are really nice!"

"Well, I'm glad... I mean, umm, that's good know..." Syaoran looked like he was about to throw up for some reason.

Yamazaki sent him a worried look.

"Geez. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

Syaoran looked around the Colosseum.

There wasn't much of an audience today. But what he did spot was a girl with auburn hair and emerald eyes from across the field.

 _Wow... I've never seen eyes like those before_... He fell into a trance. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that made her look like an angel.

 _Wow, she's probably the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my whole life.._. Her skin was as fair as snow and she seemed like she was glowing.

Yamazaki waved a hand in front of his face and he snapped out of it.

"Huh, what? Oh, I'm sorry... I was just thinking about something..."

"Looks like we got a day dreamer, huh?" Yamazaki joked.

"Anyway," Yamazaki pointed towards the other side of the Colosseum. "That's the king. King Fujitaka. And beside him is Princess Sakura, his daughter."

Syaoran gulped. _Nice going, idiot... Now you have a thing for the princess... THE PRINCESS! And, you even didn't notice that there were so many people surrounding her. They're all probably her bodyguards. Of all the people, you just had to look at her!_

Syaoran shook his head violently. _Get her out of your head! For your own good..._

Gareth walked towards the two boys.

"Lord Gareth!" Yamazaki stood up in salute.

Syaoran watched him and after full comprehension, did the same thing.

"Sit down, Takaishi! No one does that here." Gareth scolded him annoyedly.

Yamazaki gave him a sheepish smile. Gareth rolled his eyes.

"You boys are up."

He patted Syaoran on the shoulder encouragingly. "C'mon son, show me what you're made of. Go break a leg."

"What?" Syaoran asked, now as confused as ever.

"That's just an expression, don't worry... Boy, you need to lighten up!" Gareth assured him as soon as he understood what Syaoran was thinking _._

 _This is gonna take a while._ The man sighed.

"I, umm, apologize, I'm not used to this country's way of, umm, speaking…"

"Oh yeah? Whatever then... Just go grab your sword."

Syaoran brought himself together. When it came to combat, he always used his own trusty sword. He took out his scabbard from the cloth that was wrapped around his waist. Fortunately, he got a new change of clothes once he was brought into the castle.

"Lord Gareth, may I use my own sword?" Syaoran asked him boldly. He was NOT going to fight without his sword.

"Well, sure. I mean the swords we use in the castle are one of a kind. The best I'd say. Do whatever you want. We'll call off the fight if it breaks though... I have high hopes for you, son... Just don't let me down, alright?"

"I won't." said Syaoran, finally raising confidence into his voice.

"C'mon Syaoran!" Yamazaki was already on the battle ground.

"I'm coming." _This is it! Time to show'em what I'm made of!_ Syaoran smiled.

 **The Battle Ground**

"You ready, buddy? Want me to go easy on ya?" Yamazaki drew his sword.

"No. Give me your best shot... Because I'm gonna give it my all!" Syaoran told him with steel determinism. He drew his sword out as well.

"Whatever you say buddy ol' pal." Yamazaki took his battle stance.

"It's now or never." And Syaoran took his.

Gareth looked at the two boys from above.

 _That sword. Never seen anything like it before._

"COMMENCE!"

Both the boys charged at each other. The swords clashed and locked.

"Hmph, you're pretty strong for someone your age..." Yamazaki praised. But he wasn't going to back down.

"Not too bad yourself..." Syaoran bit his bottom lip. He pushed and slashed. Yamazaki was taken aback but maintained his footing.

"Woah!" Yamazaki took a defensive stance. _This is bad_ … He gulped

 _That's it!_ Syaoran was waiting for this. He charged at the opponent smoothly, his sword held back, to deliver a devastating blow.

Yamazaki lifted his sword up to protect himself.

Another clash!

This time with a lot more impact than the last one.

The blades vibrated. Yamazaki sworn he could've felt his hilt heat up.

 _What the heck's going on?_ His eyes widened.

Syaoran pushed with more force.

 _Harder!_

His face scrunched up and he looked fierce. The drastic change in his expression surprised both Yamazaki and Gareth.

Yamazaki heard a crack. _Oh boy…_

Right before his eyes, his blade shattered into a million pieces. Luckily, Yamazaki closed his eyes just in time. He was thrown a few feet from where he was standing, holding a hilt with a broken blade. He yelped in pain.

Syaoran jerked forward because of the momentum. His sword dropped from his hand. His arms were aching badly now.

 _Probably just over-exerted myself... Nothing to worry about…_ He panted.

He rushed towards Yamazaki, who was being helped up. Yamazaki almost lost his consciousness.

"Wow... What was that?"

He looked at Syaoran to see his worried face.

"Don't worry buddy…" Yamazaki said dizzily. "You won fair and square…That was… amazing…"

He smiled with a silly expression and gave Syaoran a thumbs up before fainting.

Two of the men carried him out of the Colosseum.

Syaoran looked at Gareth guiltily.

"I… don't know… what happened... Honestly." He looked down. His words were weak, even he himself didn't believe what he was saying.

Gareth patted him on the shoulder consolingly. He didn't know what happened either. But he wasn't disappointed.

"You got power and technique kid." Gareth smiled approvingly.

"But you need to learn how to control it. And perfect it."

Syaoran looked up towards him with an unsure expression.

Gareth laughed.

"You worried about Takaishi? He'll be fine! One of the strongest fellas I've ever seen!"

 **Colosseum Sidelines**

"Do you think Takashi will be alright?!" Sakura asked worriedly with her hands clasped. He was one of her old childhood friends.

Chiharu, who was sitting beside her was almost in tears, her hands over her mouth.

"Don't worry Chiharu! He just fainted… I'm sure he'll be fine." Sakura consoled her putting holding her hand.

"I hope… I just wish he wasn't so reckless!" Chiharu said, as a tear escaped her eye.

Sakura smiled _. He'll be fine... Yamazaki's one of the best young fighters here in the kingdom. But what really made me curious was the other boy- never seen him before. He seemed pretty strong for someone his age. Didn't really get to look at his face though..._

Sakura snapped out of it when one of the guards called out to her.

"Princess Sakura, Princess Kaho wants to have a word with you."

"What? Kaho's back?!" Sakura couldn't believe it. Sakura looked at Chiharu with a worried face. Chiharu smiled, wiping the tear from her face.

"Don't worry! I was gonna leave anyway. I need to pay a visit to that jackass..." Chiharu pouted jokingly.

"Well, I'll see you later then, alright?"

"Sure."

The two girls hugged each other before parting.

 **Battle Ground**

Syaoran watched as the princess left. He shook his head exasperatedly. _Oh my god, Syaoran! What are you even doing?_

"That's a nice blade you got there."

"Huh?"

Syaoran looked at his sword that laid on the ground. Not a single scratch on it. He picked it up and looked at Gareth.

He smiled.

"I had this ever since I can remember. Literally, I don't even remember when I got it. I guess… it was just… always with me."

Gareth nodded.

"I learned to use it at a very young age. It's the most valuable thing I have… It's the only thing I have." Syaoran said while dreamily examining the object.

"What's her name?"

Syaoran looked up at Gareth quizzically.

"Every fighter names their sword."

 **Kinomoto Castle**

"Kaho!" Sakura ran towards her sister-in-law and hugged her tightly from behind.

Kaho was taken aback.

"Oh, Sakura!" She turned and hugged her back. "I've missed you so much!"

Sakura looked at beautiful red-haired woman in front her. She was only bit taller than Sakura now that she's grown.

A little four-year old peeked out from behind Kaho. She grinned happily at Sakura. One of her front teeth had fallen off recently and it made her look exceptionally cute.

Sakura bent down to look at her niece.

"Hey there Rin! How's my little princess doing?"

"I'm great!" Rin said brightly.

She had beautiful black hair like Touya. Sakura patted her on her head lovingly and stood up. Kaho smiled at her daughter.

But there was a distant look in her eyes for some reason…

Sakura turned around to see her father entering the hall, followed by Touya.

"Father, how do you do?" Kaho asked Fujitaka with a smile.

"Better. After seeing you, my dear."

They hugged and the King kissed her on the forehead.

"Touya!"

"Kaho!"

The two kissed tenderly after finding each other in each other's arms.

Sakura looked at them happily.

 _What would it be like to have someone to love?_

"Grandpa! Daddy!" Rin rammed towards the king and prince.

"If it isn't the loveliest and most beautiful little princess in the kingdom!"

Kaho watched as the family exchanged words of love.

 _If only it could always be like this…_

Her expression hardened and she cleared her throat loudly.

Everyone turned towards her.

"Sakura. There is something we need to discuss about..."

-X-


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: 'Enter Keroberos'**

 **Kinomoto Castle**

"Discuss? Discuss about what?" Sakura asked confused.

Everyone else was pretty clueless too.

"What's this about Kaho?" Touya asked worriedly.

Kaho took Rin form Touya's arms and set her down. Rin stared curiously at her mother.

"Why don't you go outside and play, honey?"

Rin's face brightened up.

"Thanks Mommy! I promise I'll be good!"

She skipped outside toward the garden without wasting a single moment. Kaho smiled at her daughter. She looked back to find everyone staring at her expectantly.

Kaho took a large box out of the travelling bag that was attached to her side.

Sakura eyed it curiously.

It looked like it contained a big book.

 _Did Kaho get me a book? I mean, I love books. But what's all this commotion about?_

The box was red and had an image of a large golden lion carved on it with designs of the sun, moon and stars surrounding it.

 _It looks absolutely breath-taking!_ Sakura thought. _It's probably a really special book!_

Kaho pushed it towards her. But her expression didn't seem to show that she was giving her a present. Kaho looked serious- very serious. She gulped.

"Listen carefully, Sakura. You must open the lock on this box. Do not be alarmed by what's to happen afterward."

Touya cut in in front of Sakura before she could receive the box.

"Wait Kaho. What is this thing? And what do you mean by 'Do not be alarmed'? What's inside?" He pointed an accusatory finger at the box.

He loved his wife dearly. But Kaho was an extremely clever woman. She was a priestess, and she had plenty of tricks up her sleeve. Sometimes, it was difficult to rely on her. Especially for someone like Touya. He was extremely cautious when it came to matters concerning Sakura.

Fujitaka looked at the couple worriedly.

Kaho smirked. "My, My. Touya. Do you not trust me, my dear?" She taunted with artificial hurt in her voice.

"Not when you're gonna talk to me like that." He hated it when she did that.

Sakura put a hand in front of Touya.

"Relax, Touya. If what's inside is too dangerous for me, why would she want me open it?"

Touya glared at both of them, and backed down when he felt defeated.

"But why does Sakura have to open it? Is there any particular reason?" Fujitaka began with his hand on his chin, asking the real questions after observing the situation.

Kaho looked toward the king, still holding the box.

"It's because only she can open it. Not you, not me. Just her."

Fujitaka nodded with understanding.

Touya looked at his wife like she just said the most ridiculous thing ever.

Sakura was still confused as ever.

Kaho took a deep breath.

"After Nadeshiko died…" She didn't want to bring it up. But this was necessary.

"Sakura became the most powerful magician in this kingdom."

It sort of made sense. The royal family had magic, and Sakura inherited a large share from her mother. As it was mostly the females in the Kinomoto family, who inherit the magical powers.

"But she is still learning!" Touya added agitatedly. Her magic was stronger than his, but he always felt the need that she needed more protection than himself.

"Yes. And this is going to be part of her learning." Kaho spoke with a harder tone. She was tired of arguing. She moved towards Sakura and pushed the metallic box into her hands.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Sakura, please."

 _The fate of the kingdom depends on you now._

There was lost look in Sakura's eyes.

 **Kinomoto Kingdom Garden**

"Ow" Little Rin moaned in pain.

She tripped and bruised her knee. And her orange dress tore a bit.

 _Mommy and Daddy are not gonna be happy..._ She realized after taking a look at her minuscule wound.

A large shadow moved over her.

Her tiny body shivered.

Touya always told her not to wander off too far from the garden.

 _This is bad..._

Right in front for her landed a large dragon-like creature.

It was twice as large as a horse. And it had two heads. Its body was covered with scales from head to toe. It bore its fangs out and looked down at Rin's helpless figure.

Tears streamed down Rin's face. She was too scared to move. And she was hurt, too.

 _Mommy…_

The two headed serpent took a step forward. Rin's sobs were becoming more and more audible.

 _Help…_

She closed her eyes and gripped the grass under her tightly.

 _Somebody…anybody…_

"Hey!"

Rin looked up.

"Get away from her you beast!"

The man moved in between the serpent and Rin, with his hands stretched out each side.

Rin looked up at him but couldn't see his face.

She noticed the hair though. It was brown and messy.

"Back off if you know what's good for you!" Syaoran threatened.

The serpent growled. It stomped on the ground with loud thud and roared at Syaoran.

"Alright buddy, so you wanna fight?" Syaoran took his stance and slowly drew out his sword.

Rin, still sitting on the ground, not letting go of the grass between her fingers, stopped sobbing, to stare at the two.

The serpent charged at Syaoran with a headbutt.

Syaoran grabbed its head with one hand, used its momentum to effectively flip his body and land perfectly on the creature's back.

"There ya go!" A victorious grin spread across his face.

Rin smiled baring her teeth out, her face still wet with tears though. She found the feat quite funny.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the final blow!" Syaoran exclaimed, trying to sound as comical as possible.

The serpent wriggled its scale-clad body fiercely trying to shake Syaoran off its back. Syaoran held on tightly though.

When the creature was about to bend its body to drop the irritant, Syaoran brought his legs down, still holding onto one of the serpent's necks. He used the creature's momentum against it and flipped it, causing it end up on the ground, upside down.

To this, Rin laughed out heartily. She felt like she was watching one of those street shows in the villages.

"Bravo! Bravo!" She clapped and cheered.

Syaoran got his footing and bowed at his young audience.

"Thank you! You're too kind!."

He looked back at the two-headed serpent, who was still upside down, trying to make sense of what just happened. Syaoran placed his sword on the base of both of its necks. The creature's eyes widened and it stopped struggling.

It looked up at Syaoran with its dark yellow eyes, helplessly. Syaoran stared back and pushed his sword harder. His eyes showed no mercy.

The young princess gazed upon the scene, still sitting, with her mouth wide open.

After moments of starring at each other, Syaoran moved his eyes away. He moved his sword away too. The serpent slowly got back to its up-right position. Its head hung low, and this time, it looked much less intimidating. It brought its eyes up towards Syaoran. The helplessness, still lingering in them.

Syaoran looked at it indifferently.

"Get out... And don't come back." Syaoran pointed at the opposite direction, signaling the creature to get lost.

The serpent walked away slowly.

Rin couldn't help but feel sorry for the creature. When it pulled up that puppy-dog face, she found that it looked quite cute.

She got up slowly, forgetting that she had hurt her knee.

Syaoran felt a tug on his shirt. He withdrew his sword to look down at the little girl.

"Thank you, mister! You just saved my life!"

"Don't mention it kid." Syaoran didn't know this was the prince's daughter. He smiled and patted the girl on the head.

Right at that moment, his sword started to shake lightly in its scabbard.

Syaoran quickly grabbed it with his hand. It stopped.

He looked at it from the side.

 _What the heck was that?_

"I'm Rin. What's your name?" His thoughts were interrupted.

"Oh… umm, you can call me Syaoran. I mean… my name's Syaoran." He tried to put himself together.

Rin giggled.

"You're funny!"

 **Back At The Kinomoto Castle**

A bright light illuminated the whole place.

"What the heck is going on Kaho?!" Touya screamed out.

He grabbed onto his aged father to support him. He couldn't see a damn thing.

Sakura had opened the latch on the box. She was now wondering if it was a good decision.

 _Oh my god what's happening! I can't see a thing!_

An unknown energy filled up her whole being. She felt like she was choking.

 _Oh no…_

Sakura grabbed her throat. The feeling was going up towards her head. It wasn't painful. It just felt as if something was violating her- violating her deep inside her heart.

Sakura didn't know when but she ended up on her knees. Her hands were on her head this time.

 _HELP!_

Kaho stood there.

 _Just a little longer. Hang in there, Sakura. You can do it! I believe in you…_

The blinding light slowly dispersed.

Touya kept Fujitaka from falling over. He looked up at Sakura. She was on her knees trying to catch her breath.

"Sakura!"

He was going to look at Kaho when something caught his eye.

 _What on earth is that?_

A yellow teddy bear was floating midair, with its eyes closed. The box laid open, empty, on the ground. And the teddy-bear was hovering right above it. It had tiny white angelic wings and a small tail that looked like that of a lion's cub.

Touya rubbed his eyes.

 _I must be seeing things…_

 **Hiragizawa Castle**

The sound of hysteric laughter echoed throughout the dark room.

"Is that Keroberos!? Oh my god! He looks like a cute teddy-bear! Master, why didn't you make Spinel Sun like that?!" Ruby Moon shrieked.

Spinel Sun growled at his humanoid counterpart.

"That's his fake form, you congenital imbecile!"

The panther-like creature looked back at the glowing orb.

Nevertheless, seeing Keroberos in his fake form was something he never would have expected. Spinel Sun too found it quite… hilarious.

He grinned, showing his shiny white fangs. He didn't do that often.

"Priceless…" He muttered.

"Now, now, you two... Behave yourselves." The blue haired boy, sitting between the two otherworldly creatures, scolded, humorously.

In his hand, he shuffled a deck of cards casually.

"What will it be? Oh, what WILL it be" He asked himself excitedly, with a playful, yet dangerous-looking, smile across his handsome face.

He stopped shuffling.

Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon looked at their master expectantly.

He drew the first card.

He looked at it.

He smirked.

 _My favorite._

The floor below his chair started to glow. It had the same sun, moon and stars pattern that the mysterious box had.

He flipped the card around.

It was pink with golden borders.

On it, was a black and white sketch of a woman, with giant feathers covering her shoulders.

"THE WINDY" It read.

 **Kinomoto Castle**

Touya glared at the teddy-bear like creature.

And it glared back as well with its button-like black eyes.

Sakura looked to and fro between the two, absolutely bewildered, and still on her knees on the floor.

 _For one moment I thought that Kaho got me a talking teddy-bear as a late birthday present._

Sakura sighed.

Fujitaka cleared his throat, demanding attention.

"So, what you're saying is that, YOU are the Guardian Beast of the Seal?"

Everyone looked towards the floating teddy.

He nodded and puffed his small yellow chest.

"That's me. The great Keroberos. In the flesh!"

"The Guardian Beast of… Clow Reed's… Clow Cards?" Fujitaka continued. For he couldn't digest the information that was being served to him.

Everyone here knew about Clow Reed. He was a powerful magician that ruled the lands hundreds of years ago. There was a legend that he created a deck a 52 magical cards by manifesting his amazing magical powers.

"That is absolutely correct!"

Keroberos looked back at Touya.

"Look here kid, if we're gonna work together, you're gonna have to listen to everything I say! I mean everything."

Everyone's eyes widened. Touya was boiling with anger.

"I ain't gonna work with you, you freakin' teddy! How could you even think that?!"

"What did you call me, kid?" Keroberos' veins started popping on his head.

"Who are ya callin' a kid, you god forsaken teddy?!"

"Both of you! Stop it this instant!"

Both of them looked at Kaho, who stayed silent the whole time.

"Keroberos." She looked at the flying doll-like creature and cleared her throat.

"With all due respect, Keroberos, you are mistaken. The person who opened the latch was this young girl right here." Kaho pointed at Sakura, who looked she fell straight from the sky.

Keroberos pointed at her expressionlessly.

"So… you're saying that… this little girl… is the chosen one?"

Everyone nodded.

The creature fell on the ground unconscious.

 **Kinomoto Castle Garden**

The wind was blowing with unusual force all of a sudden.

Syaoran held tightly on to Rin, who was almost blown away.

"What's going on?!" Rin screamed. This was the second scare she was getting in one day.

"I don't know!" Syaoran shouted back. The noise from the wind made it difficult to hear.

 _I have to get her to safety._

He ran towards the castle, carrying Rin. He was going against the wind and it was almost impossible to take a step forward.

 _Damn. This is not good._

 **Kinomoto Castle Entrance**

 _What's up with weather today?_ Yukito asked himself.

He was walking towards the castle to meet Kaho.

He looked up at the sky.

Something was definitely out of place.

"I have to get inside!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: "VS The Windy"**

 **Kinomoto Castle**

Touya picked up the unconscious Keroberos by the leg and examined him.

"He's out cold."

"Well he has been asleep for a few hundred years." Kaho stated as a matter-of-factly.

Touya gave her the look.

"How the heck did you find this?"

Kaho was about to answer when there was a loud thud on the castle door.

It was the wind!

It kept hitting the door continuously with incredible force. The huge wooden door seemed like it could break open any moment.

"What's happening?" Fujitaka exclaimed worriedly.

Kaho seemed like she understood.

 _Oh no._

"It's one of the Clow Cards!" Keroberos suddenly spoke up, regaining his consciousness.

Touya was so astonished that he dropped the Guardian Beast.

Keroberos floated back up midair. He began looking around for something. When he noticed the red metallic box in front of Sakura, he dived towards it.

"WHERE ARE THE CARDS?!" The creature became extremely agitated.

He looked around, and then pointed an accusatory finger at Sakura.

"You..." His tone dripped with disappointment.

Sakura straightened up in her position.

"This is all your fault!"

"HER FAULT?! She was the one who let your sorry ass out of that god damned cage!" Touya retorted.

"Language, Touya." Fujitaka scolded, even though he knew that this wasn't the right time.

Keroberos looked back at the empty box hopelessly.

"You foolish mortals… Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

 **Hiragizawa Castle**

The blue-haired boy laughed loudly, holding on to his stomach. He wasn't getting enough of this.

He wiped a tear off from behind his glasses.

"Oh Keroberos… You haven't changed a bit!"

Spinel Sun looked up at his master with concern.

The boy bent down towards the sphere. His expression turning very serious.

"Keroberos… That's the last thing you should be worried about right now."

A large thud came out from the orb.

His eyes widened.

"Heads up…"

 **Kinomoto Castle**

BOOM!

The castle doors burst open.

Everyone was blown back a good few feet.

Touya once again held onto his father.

Kaho fell down on the floor.

Keroberos was blown down to Sakura's lap. She caught him and held on to him.

"We need to get out! It wants us to get out!" Keroberos regained his composure.

"What is 'It'!?" The suspense was killing Sakura.

Keroberos' expression darkened.

"It's the Windy…" he muttered.

"The what?!"

Keroberos got up and took her arm.

"Listen, we need to get up and fight that thing! (I hate to say this) But you're our only hope against it!" Keroberos told her with a solemn expression.

Sakura had a hopeless look in her beautiful emerald eyes.

Keroberos pulled her up. The wind was blowing mercilessly.

 _I need to work with whatever I have here... Clow Reed, I have no idea what you were thinking when you decided on this…_

"C'mon!"

Sakura slowly walked forward with the creature. He had more strength than he appeared to have.

 _I have no idea what's going on… This is absolutely insane!_

 **On the Way To The Castle**

Syaoran looked up at the castle. Which was just a few feet away. Rin was on his shoulder unconscious.

 _Hold on, kid... Just a little more..._

He noticed a grey haired man with spectacles standing right in front of the castle door.

 _Why isn't he going inside? Oh wait! He's one of the Royal Knights! I remember… I'll just give her to him. Then he'll know what to do…_

Syaoran stopped right on his tracks when he saw Princess Kinomoto come out through the castle entrance. She was struggling to maintain her footing and forced her through the strong wind.

 _Why would she want to come out of the castle when the weather's like this? And… is that a stuffed animal she's holding up? No… it looks more like… the stuffed animals pulling her out… But that doesn't even make sense…_

The Syaoran eased up when the wind around him stopped rushing. He looked around, relieved.

 **Castle Entrance**

As soon as she came outside, the wind stopped. She looked at Keroberos, who was looking around carefully. He slowly turned towards Sakura, and made a pink key chain appear right in front of her face.

"Grab it." He instructed.

Sakura cupped both of her hands up, her eyes widened. The object dropped. An electric surge went through her whole body. She shivered.

"That felt really weird!"

"For real?" _This just might work._ He hoped.

Sakura nodded.

"Okay, now hold it up… with both your hands. And listen carefully… you have to repeat exactly what I say."

Sakura nodded again.

"Key of Clow, power of magic…" Keroberos began chanting.

"Key of Clow… power of…" Sakura repeated weakly and unsurely.

"You'll have to be faster! PLEASE! You need to understand that our safety is in your hands!"

Sakura gulped and nodded.

"Sorry… I'll try again…"

Keroberos looked back up towards the sky. The wind had stopped. But he could feel an evil magic manifesting… He shuddered.

He looked back at Sakura. He knew that she was feeling it too. Her whole body was shaking violently and she was struggling to keep standing.

He started to feel sorry for her.

 _It's not her fault... She's a victim in this situation as much as I am..._

Keroberos sighed.

 _Maybe I can go a bit easier on her..._

"You ready?"

"Yes!" There was determination in Sakura's voice this time. She wanted to prove herself to the Guardian Beast more than anything now.

 _Here goes._

"Key of Clow, power of magic…" Keroberos chanted slowlier this time. Sakura listened carefully. "Power of light… surrender the wand…the force ignite."

Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Touya, Fujitaka and Kaho appeared behind Sakura. Touya looked as though he was hit by a band wagon. Yukito came running forward as well since he was close by. He gave everyone a questioning expression. Touya gave him a 'long story-explain later' look.

 **Syaoran and Rin**

Syaoran spotted the King, being supported by the prince, come out of the entrance of the castle.

He rushed to the scene. He had a really bad feeling in his gut. Something bad was going to happen. And a question rose to his mind.

 _Where are the guards and other people? This is absurd…_

Rin was sleeping peacefully on his shoulder.

 **Sakura and Keroberos**

"Key of Clow, power of magic, power of light. Surrender the wand. The force ignite!"

The pink key ring in her cupped palms started to spin in the air.

"Release!"

"RELEASE!"

To Sakura's, and everyone else's, surprise the key ring enlarged itself to become a pink staff with a golden star on its tip.

 _Whoa_

The blinding light was there again. Yukito covered his eyes with his arm, and so did everyone else.

A pair of angel wings appeared on Sakura's back and she was now levitating midair with a pink staff in her hand.

Syaoran stopped on his tracks. He looked up at her with awe. Her body was glowing and it felt like he was looking at the sun. His mouth literally dropped open.

Touya spotted the new comer. Rin was unconscious on his shoulder… and he also noticed the fact that that her dress was torn and her knee was scraped.

Touya examined the boy carefully.

 _He's a peasant..._

He boiled up with anger.

Keroberos gaped at Sakura.

"It's the Fly card! But I thought all the cards were gone!"

 **Hiragizawa Castle**

"Why did you have to have do that?" Ruby Moon booed.

The blue-haired boy shrugged his shoulders.

Spinel Sun looked up at his master from beside his chair, with a concerned look.

 _Master… What exactly are you planning?_

 **Kinomoto Castle**

The wind started blowing again. This time in the shape of a tornado. But it slowly shrank down to the form of a woman. It stood there face to face with Sakura. Sakura gripped her wand tighter.

"You must hit Windy with the wand. That'll seal her back into her card."

Sakura took her stance, ready to charge at her foe.

"Alright."

"Sakura please be careful!" Fujitaka warned, concerned.

Sakura dashed towards Windy. The Fly made her very agile. But as soon as she made contact, the creature dissolved into the air around it.

"Huh?!"

It shaped itself again behind Sakura.

It hit Sakura with a blast of wind that came out from its hand.

Sakura wasn't able turn around fast enough to see the attack coming. Her eyes widened.

"Ahhh!" The blast hit her square on the wings

She landed on Yukito with a loud thud. Luckily he caught her and broke her fall.

"Oh no…" Keroberos rushed to her aid.

"Sakura!" Touya did the same.

Syaoran snarled at the scene.

 _Dammit…_

He set Rin down on the ground. He looked up at the mystical creature in the air.

Windy took this chance and turned to the remaining audience, Kaho and Fujitaka. It brought its arm backwards, as though it was preparing to throw a punch.

Syaoran's eyes widened. He looked at Fujitaka and Kaho, who were as good as sitting ducks. He put his hand on his sword and focused on Windy.

 _Quick Syaoran… Think!_

Windy let out her second powerful gale blast.

His senses snapped and Syaoran charged forward.

Touya turned around a bit too late because he was tending to his sister.

"FATHER!"

Fujitaka's eyes widened, a blast of visible wind heading straight toward his face. But all of a sudden he felt a large force on his shoulder. A boy, that he didn't even notice was there, had pushed him down.

"Argh!" The blast of wind hit Syaoran's left shoulder.

Kaho gasped.

But Syaoran didn't waste any time. He got up as fast as he could, all eyes on him now… He drew out his sword with his good right hand threw it like a spear at the otherworldly creature.

The Windy didn't see it coming. Syaoran's sword pierced through its vapor-like body and it passed through.

 _That's not gonna work on Windy!_ Keroberos thought…

Or SO he thought…

Electric currents rushed through Windy's body. It screamed in agony.

Keroberos was star struck. So was Kaho.

 _But…how?_

 **Hiragizawa Castle**

He grabbed the armrests of his chair tightly.

"What!?"

Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon jerked up. He never lost his composure before. At least not in front of them.

Syaoran's face appeared on his sphere. The blue-haired boy examined the former's amber orbs, his fists tightened into balls.

He got from his chair and bent down, his face almost touching the orb's smooth surface.

"You…you look familiar… very familiar..."

Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon tried to get a closer look at the subject. They didn't understand what he was talking about though. They looked back at their master, worriedly.

He slammed his fist on the table. They shuddered.

"WHO ARE YOU?!"

The blue-haired boy turned around and walked toward the two, a deadly expression on his face. He snapped his fingers and the crystal sphere table and chair disappeared.

"Get ready…"

 **Kinomoto Castle**

 _How about that?_

Syaoran suddenly remembered his injured shoulder. It stung really badly all of a sudden. And the pain was unbearable. He grabbed his shoulder and fell on his knees. His eyes scrunched up in pain.

He screamed out in agony.

Sakura looked at him.

 _That hair… I know him. I saw him at the Colosseum. He fought Yamazaki..._

She examined those amber eyes curiously. She found them quite… intriguing for some reason.

He was still cringing and she looked at him with concern.

 _You saved my father… thank you…_

Kaho rushed towards Syaoran. She took a napkin out.

"Please…that wouldn't be necessary. Thank you…"

He got up slowly. His hand still on his left shoulder, he looked up at Windy. Unfortunately, it had recovered faster than he did. He glared at the creature. Looking around for his blade, he found that it was a good few feet away, towards the end where Sakura lay with Touya, Yukito and Keroberos. He slowly backed up, towards the castle entrance, eyeing his opponent carefully.

The Windy as about to move toward him when…

"Hey!" It turned around to see Sakura. Her wings were back up and she held up her staff. She had a steely look on her face.

 _It's time to get serious._

Touya and Yukito stood behind her, looking up towards Windy.

Keroberos watched closely.

 _That's it girl... Go for it. You can do it!_

Sakura whipped up her wings and dashed for the Windy for the second time. The Windy turned completely and vaporized as soon as Sakura was an inch away.

Sakura turned around quickly this time.

"I'm not gonna fall for the same trick twice!"

The Windy materialized itself and the two were facing off once again.

Sakura eyed Windy carefully- it seemed very emotionless. She found it quite disturbing.

She took a small glance at Keroberos from behind Windy.

He gave her a questioning look- Sakura was trying tell him something...

Sakura winced when Windy jabbed at her. She dodged it, but it was a close call… She attempted to hit it a second time with her wand, but it vanished into thin air once again.

Sakura looked up. It materialized above her this time… Windy made a dive towards her. But Sakura managed to shield herself with the wand just in time. The impact caused both of them to fly in the other direction. Sakura took this chance to look back at Keroberos. She signaled at the sword that was on the ground.

Keroberos gave an affirmative nod.

 _Good idea… it's our best bet!_

Touya and Yukito watched as the winged-teddy bear lunged towards the sword. He picked it up by the thread that was attached to the hilt and then looked at Syaoran.

Syaoran was too busy watching the battle to notice the exchange.

He felt sorry because he wasn't of any help…yet.

"Head's up kid!"

Syaoran looked down at Keroberos.

 _Did the stuffed animal just call out to me?_

Nevertheless, he managed to catch his sword.

 _Good!_

"Thank you!" Syaoran smirked.

He held it up with his right-hand, like a spear, once again. He closed his left eye and looked at the sky, trying to secure the shot.

Sakura smiled at Syaoran. She was relieved. Luckily, she looked back at Windy just fast enough to dodge another blast of wind… The wings from the Fly made her fast, but it was draining her off her life force. She could feel it. It won't be possible to continue this for much longer.

 _I need to finish this fast!_

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

She moved just in time to dodge the sword Syaoran threw at Windy. Windy tried to catch the sword but it went through her arm.

Keroberos was impressed.

 _How's this happening? That's so not supposed to happen… I shouldn't complain though_ …

The electric current flowed across its arm and travelled throughout its body. The creature shrieked.

 _Now's my chance!_

Sakura hit Windy successfully with her wand, as it couldn't dematerialize this time.

The creature turned into a bright light which looked as though it was being sucked into the star on the tip of the wand.

Everyone looked up at the scene with awe.

The light took the form of a card in front the tip of the wand.

"Hurry up! Repeat after me!"

Sakura looked down at Keroberos. She was almost out of breath.

"Windy, I command you to return to your power confine!"

Sakura gulped.

"I command you to return to your power confine… Windy card!"

The light dispersed from the card and it turned into the golden-bordered pink card that said 'THE WINDY'.

Sakura caught the card before drifting down. She was slowly losing her consciousness.

Yukito rushed out before Touya to catch Sakura.

"Here, I got this!"

The wings from her back turned into light and then dispersed immediately. So now there were two cards in her hand- along with 'THE FLY'. This one had the picture of wings on it.

Keroberos floated to her to see if she was alright.

"You did well." He smirked.

Touya looked at his sister from afar and then at the person of interest.

Syaoran fell on his knees again. His shoulder still hurt. He was surprised when felt someone pull him up by the collar of his shirt.

He looked up…

It was the prince.

"What did you do with my daughter?" Touya's voice was low and deadly.

Syaoran eye's widened and he was absolutely speechless. The astonishment had overcome him.

"Tell me, you son of a…"

"Touya! Let him down! He saved her life!" Kaho defended. Her hands on Touya's.

"What are you saying, woman?!"

"I'm telling the truth!"

Touya looked Syaoran in the eye. Syaoran didn't know what to feel. He was extremely overwhelmed and he chose to remain silent.

"Leave him alone, Touya..."

He looked back to see Sakura walking up to him, supported by Yukito.

"Why would you trust…?"

She cut him off. "Because he just saved our father's life! If only you wouldn't have been so hot-headed, you would've noticed!"

Touya grinded his teeth and let go.

Syaoran fell on his knees again with a thud. He was breathing heavily. Kaho bent down and rubbed his back.

Touya walked towards Rin and picked her up.

 _She's sleeping peacefully…_

He turned around to take one last look at the peasant before going inside the castle.

He could've sworn he saw Syaoran glare at him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: "Enter Eriol"**

Everyone gathered inside the castle. Except for Touya and Kaho. They went upstairs to put Rin in her room. Fujitaka left to rest as well.

The room that everyone gathered in was one of the many rooms where all the important people had meetings.

"I can't believe I missed it!" Tomoyo cried out.

Sakura laughed nervously. She put her hands up, signaling her best friend to calm down.

"Don't worry Tomoyo… It wasn't THAT exciting... And I promise that I'm perfectly fine. I'm just a bit tired. That's all."

Tomoyo sighed in relief. But she was still unconvinced.

"But I missed one of the most amazing moments in your life…" She brought out a big book that was lying beside her chair the whole time.

"I wanted to sketch the whole incident in this book, which is filled with all the other sketches I made of you before!"

Everyone sweat-dropped.

Tomoyo was a gifted artist. But she only used her amazing talent to sketch important events in Sakura's life. Believe it or not, the big fat sketchbook she held up was already more than half full.

Syaoran was there too… He remained standing because he refused to sit down in any of the chairs, no matter how much Yukito and Sakura urged him. He looked around the room. He's never seen anything like it. It's probably the biggest room he's ever been in. And that's probably because he's never been inside a castle before. The room was covered in expensive marble, starting from the floor to the walls and to the ceiling. His mouth was wide open most of the time.

Sakura got up and walked towards him.

Syaoran stiffened. A few moments ago, Yukito wrapped his shoulder with bandages. So, he was curing. Keroberos said that they needed to talk with him. And that the incident that had occurred a while ago cannot be shared with anyone.

Sakura smiled friendlily at him. But Syaoran was finding it hard to look at her directly in the eyes. He knew that he would be stuck staring awkwardly at those emerald poles if he did. That would be very wrong…she's the princess, after all. And, he could get into a lot of trouble for it.

Sakura put her hand out.

"Hi, I'm Sakura! Thank you for helping us out today! Without you, we would have been in a lot of trouble!"

Syaoran twitched. He didn't know what to do. Should he shake her hand or not? If he did, he'd start blushing, for sure. But if he didn't, that would be rude. And being rude was the last thing he wanted to do.

He slowly lifted his hand towards hers. His eyes were still down at her feet, not daring to look up.

 _C'mon Syaoran! It's just a shake... it's not that hard!_

Sakura waited patiently, the friendly smile still stretched on her beautiful face. She was probably the only one in the room who didn't notice the boy's predicament.

He finally managed to shake her hand. Her hand felt incredibly soft in his, and just like he feared, he immediately started blushing. When he heard Tomoyo giggling softly, he immediately let go of the princess' hand. He balled his fists unconsciously- his face redder than ever.

What surprised him even more was when Sakura bent down to look at him straight in the eyes.

"So… aren't you gonna tell me your's?"

Syaoran gasped and jerked backwards. Sakura blinked at him with a confused expression.

 _Was it something I said?_ She asked herself worriedly.

 _Get your stuff together, Syaoran!_ He scolded himself, breathing heavily.

The new found distance made Syaoran more comfortable. He eased up.

"My name is Syaoran… Just Syaoran!" He tried not to stutter and sound awkward. But he failed miserably.

The worried look left her face. She smiled good-heartedly again. Syaoran gulped when he looked at her face again.

"Hello there, Syaoran! I haven't seen you here before, so you must be new! Welcome to the Kinomoto Kingdom!" She spread her hands out. "And once again, thank you!"

"It was my duty!" Syaoran bowed down.

Sakura blinked her eyes twice, clueless as ever.

Tomoyo giggled once again. She was reading his mind the whole time.

 _Poor Sakura… if only she wasn't so dense..._

She thought that Sakura would look really adorable with this boy. She found Syaoran to be a really nice person.

Yukito cleared his throat, everyone's attention.

"Would someone tell me why all the castle guards and the Royal Knights were asleep while we were fighting the Clow card?" The real question was asked.

Keroberos floated upwards. His face scrunched up, as he tried to decipher the situation.

"It's because of the evil magic that summoned the card in the first place… It put to sleep everyone who didn't have magic."

He then pointed at Yukito.

"But you! You're not part of the Royal family are you?"

Yukito shook his head, bewildered. Keroberos flew towards him and examined him. Yukito blinked, confusedly.

 _He doesn't seem to have magic… But he gives me this weird feeling… I can't explain it…_

Syaoran's eyes widened with realization.

 _So that's why Rin, I mean, the young princess, fell asleep! It wasn't because of the wind…_

He looked down at his palms, examining them curiously.

 _So does this mean… I have magic?_

Keroberos then flew towards Syaoran and examined him. His face merely centimeters away from the boy's. Syaoran eyed him quizzically.

Keroberos jerked back and shook his head violently.

"No! You definitely don't have any magic!"

Sakura's shoulders slumped. She felt really down all of a sudden for some reason.

"Huh?" Syaoran exclaimed when the Guardian Beast started doing circles around his head.

"How did you do it?" He asked Syaoran, still revolving around him, he was a hundred percent sure the boy had magic when threw that sword…

 _The sword!_

Keroberos dived towards the sword that hung onto Syaoran's side. He examined the hilt - the red threads and the yellow diamonds. He remembered that the blade was long, thin and exceptionally shiny.

"This sword… it looks very familiar… like one I saw a long time ago..." Keroberos shook his violently. "But that can't be right…" He said to himself worriedly.

"Your suspicions are correct, Keroberos." Kaho entered the room.

Everyone turned to her.

"Sakura is the cardcaptor. And Syaoran is her partner- the person who's destined to assist the cardcaptor and protect her from all harm. Today's incident proved it."

"But he doesn't have any magic!" Keroberos argued. "Clow Reed said that he would have magic!"

Kaho smirked. "You don't need magic when you can operate a magic sword."

Keroberos felt defeated. He couldn't argue with that. He looked back at Syaoran's blade.

 _That isn't just an ordinary magic sword... Something's different about it... There's definitely more to it than that meets the eye…_

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other.

 _Partners?..._

"Wait, wait, wait!" Everyone looked at Tomoyo. "So you're saying that it's not over!"

Keroberos nodded casually.

"Yeah, there's still like fifty more cards left to find... Why do you ask?"

Sakura was hit with realization.

 _No, no, no..._

"Because I'm gonna come with Sakura and Syaoran!"

"Tomoyo are you crazy!? It's too dangerous!" Sakura's expression turned serious.

"Sakura! This is probably gonna be the most exhilarating, the most amazing, part of your life!... You always wanted to go on an adventure…" Tomoyo's expression saddened. "And I don't want to miss it…" She added the last part in a low whisper.

Sakura slapped her forehead and sighed. There was absolutely no arguing with Tomoyo.

"Fine… You can come..."

"Oh my gosh, Sakura! I love you!" Tomoyo hugged Sakura back tightly. Sakura felt defeated and hugged her back.

Syaoran looked at the exchange. No one seemed to care about what he thought...

"Alright guys!" Keroberos looked at Syaoran and Sakura. "We need to train!"

Syaoran looked cluelessly at the Guardian Beast. Sakura, although, had a determined look.

"Sure thing, Kero!"

Keroberos was about to turn around to leave when his ears perked up.

"What… What did you just call me?" Keroberos gave her an annoyed look.

"Kero! You know! It's short for 'Keroberos'!" She spat 'Keroberos' out like she hated the name.

Sakura thought that the name suited him for his adorable teddy bear-like appearance. She knew that he was bossy, and that he always tried to act tough… but she also knew that, deep down, he was a softy. And that he really cared for her. The thought made Sakura smile.

Kero sighed. No one could stand the charms of Sakura's beautiful smiles. "Fine. Call me whatever you want… I just wanna get this over with, that's all..." He started to float away.

Sakura giggled. She looked at Syaoran, who just stood there, all quiet and observant. She grabbed his hand. Syaoran stiffened again, his eyes widened.

"C'mon!" she pulled him as she ran after Kero. She laughed when he almost tripped.

"Boy, you need to lighten up!" Sakura teased.

"I get that a lot…" Syaoran said with a bent and nervous smile.

Kaho and Yukito were the only ones who were left in the room. Yukito was still bewildered, even though the story was explained to him. Kaho looked at her husband's best friend.

"I know you're in there…" Kaho told him. She was looking straight at him, but it seemed as though she was looking through him.

"What?..." Yukito asked, he had no idea what she was talking about.

Kaho smirked. "It's about time you come out… you know?"

She walked out of the room. Yukito blinked at her exiting figure.

 _Maybe all the pressure from today has gotten into her..._

His stomach growled.

 _Boy, am I hungry…_

 **Kinomoto Castle Garden**

"Your posture- you need to perfect it!" Kero showed her his different battle stances.

Sakura sweat-dropped.

 _You can't be serious…_

"Yeah, but what does this have to do with anything?..."

"Everything Sakura! You need to remember that you're a hero!" Kero was inches away from her face with a very deadly expression. "And this the only way you can do it…"

Sakura gulped and nodded nervously. She gripped her staff tightly.

Kero moved forward and stood on the ground with his small yellow teddy-bear legs. He was holding an imaginary staff on his hand. He buffed his chest up and looked behind if Sakura was following his steps. She was. Reluctantly. But she was. He held his imaginary wand in the air.

"Release!"

"RELEASE!"

Syaoran watched from the distance as the two trained. He was polishing the blade of his sword. He held up to the sun and watched the long silver blade shine. He smiled proudly.

 _Beauty…_

He turned around when he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him. He looked back at it carefully. Definitely wasn't a person. It was making a lot of noise and he could tell it was big. Syaoran moved towards the bush stealthily with his sword, ready to attack whatever it was whenever it showed itself.

When he was just a few inches away from the bush, two heads popped out.

Syaoran yelled and jerked backwards,

"You!" he pointed an accusatory finger at the creature, angrily. It was the same dragon-like four-legged two-headed creature that had attacked Rin.

Before Syaoran could react, one of the heads of the beast licked Syaoran's face with its tongue. His face was all wet. Syaoran wiped his face with his arm.

 _Ugh… Disgusting…_

He let his guard down and before he knew it, the dragon had already wrestled him to the ground. It was licking his face ferociously, this time with both of its tongues.

"Ugh! Cut it out! Get off me!" Syaoran tried pushing the heads away with his hands. It started to tickle and he couldn't control his laughter.

He looked for his sword with no avail. It must've fallen from his hand when he reached to wipe his face.

"Stop it already! That tickles!" Syaoran continued to laugh, all the while trying to shove the creature off him.

It finally stopped. Syaoran sat up and tried to regain his composure. He was breathing heavily. He looked up at the creature, which was now staring at his face intently.

 _Oh no… Don't tell me…_

He stood up, dusted his shirt and glared at the dragon. Then he turned around to walk away, all the while looking back at it. He stopped when he noticed that it was following him.

Syaoran slapped his forehead, frustratedly, and moved his palm downwards along his face.

 _Just great… this is just what I needed…_

He head jerked up when he heard footsteps.

"Syaoran! Are you there?" It was a feminine voice.

"Quick! Hide!" He dashed towards the dragon and tried to push it back towards the bushes.

"Syaoran… Were you yelling?" Sakura asked worriedly when she found him.

She gasped when she saw that he was sitting on a large, scale-clad, lump that was sticking out from the bushes.

Syaoran scratched his messy brown hair unmindfully and blew on the wet bangs that were over his eyes.

"I can explain…" He grinned sheepishly.

 **Daidouji Kingdom**

Tomoyo was helped down from her carriage.

The Daidouji Kingdom wasn't very far from the Kinomoto Kingdom. They were neighboring kingdoms actually. Although, this kingdom wasn't as big as the former.

"Princess Tomoyo, you have a visitor." One of the castle guards spoke up.

"Oh really? Who is it?" She asked curiously. "I wasn't expecting anyone this evening…"

"Your highness, he… uhm… told us not to tell you. He wants it to be a surprise… He is waiting for you inside the castle."

Tomoyo blinked her eyes, confused.

Once she was inside her castle, she noticed that there was a young man sitting in one of the couches. His back was turned to her and she couldn't see his face.

 _Don't tell me it's another suitor_ … she sighed, frustrated.

She stopped when she was a few feet away from him. The man had blue hair. She cleared her throat. He got up from his seat and turned around.

Tomoyo's eyes widened. He was a tall young man, probably her age. He had piercing blue eyes behind his spectacles and he looked very handsome.

The man walked up towards her, took her hand and kissed it.

Tomoyo blushed.

The man looked up at her eyes and smiled good-heartedly. Tomoyo found the smile absolutely breath-taking.

"Greetings, Princess Tomoyo… I am Prince Hiragizawa… Eriol Hiragizawa."


End file.
